"I think it became evident during the budget cycle that there were some people on council who weren't happy, and it only takes awhile to have a few more pile on," Griffin said following Tuesday's City Council meeting. "We're moving forward and we're taking a different direction. He's moving on and I'm sorry to see him go."

Greer said Tuesday it was Shaffer's decision to leave. "Larry decided he wanted to pursue other opportunities," Greer said. "We wish him the best and we've got a very workable (employee release) agreement with him."

Breeding said if Shaffer wanted to leave, he could have done so by giving 60 days notice without the city negotiating an employee release agreement and severance.

"Evidently (Shaffer) negotiated the conditions," Breeding said. "I mean, he could have just resigned."

Breeding said he didn't know there were discussions about Shaffer leaving until last week. "I don't think he wanted to leave," Breeding said. "I think he was asked to leave. The message was, some people weren't happy with him."

Breeding recently said he gave Shaffer poor marks on his annual evaluation while other council members appeared to be satisfied with his performance. Despite that, Breeding said he didn't want Shaffer to go because he had only been working with newly elected council members for seven months. "I mentioned that in the executive session. I'm not ready for him to leave," Breeding said.

Griffin said Tuesday he was happy with Shaffer's performance.

"I think Larry's done a great job," Griffin said. "To come into this at a time when the employees were demoralized, layoffs, cutbacks -- I mean, he did a lot to improve the morale. He was the right person for the right time.

"He's got a very laid-back style that puts people at ease."

Greer gave Shaffer mixed reviews on Tuesday.

"I think council members had been pretty open with him about lots of opinions," Greer said. "He's been here just over a year and there's been some pretty outstanding things that happened. There's been other things that have been bumps in the road, I would call it ... He's a good person. He's a good man."